Campion Now Cleared – But Must Compete to Get His Own Job Back?

Excerpted from Psychologist Can Again Seek City Contracts, by Chao Xiong, published Oct 10, 2006, in Minneapolis Star Tribune:

The psychologist suspended by the Minneapolis Police Department in August after concerns surfaced about his past affiliation with a group opposing civil rights for gays will be allowed to bid for future work with the city.

Interim Police Chief Tim Dolan rescinded the suspension of Campion, Barrow and Associates in a Sept. 6 memo to the City Council. The Champaign, Ill.-based company came under fire after concerns were raised about Michael A. Campion’s time with the Illinois Family Institute. His company began screening potential officers for the department more than a year ago and also works with other agencies in Minnesota.

The chief’s memo said there has been “no specific allegation of sexual bias” regarding Campion and that information on sexual orientation is not collected in the hiring process. Concerns about a disparate racial impact in his screening process also were unfounded, police said. That means Campion can throw his hat in the ring, along with other firms, when the department solicits firms to conduct future psychological testing.

…Peter LaBarbera said Campion was one of their board members up until about a year ago. LaBarbera asserts, and police confirm, that there was a verbal agreement made before the suspension that Campion’s company would conduct some evaluations for the department. But Campion was notified last week — after Dolan’s memo — that the work was going to a different company, according to LaBarbera and Minneapolis Deputy Chief Don Harris.

…Waggoner Kloek, who is also the anti-violence program manager for the gay rights group OutFront Minnesota, said her main concern with Campion is that he was unable to adequately explain how he separated his personal beliefs from his work during a meeting with some PCRC members in August…

Continue reading at Star Tribune…